Category Archives: Tasting Notes

Notes on wines I have tasted

April 5, 2013 · 7:31 am

Romanelli – 24/04/2012

Grechetto dei Colli Mantani 2011
Had a slightly wild asparagus and kumquat nose, with citrus freshness on the palate coupled with some herbal elements, a very approachable easy white wine.

Predama 2009
Blends 80% sangiovese with 10% sagrantino and 10% merlot, and had a generous soft and full fruit character, but was still very fresh and approachable, with red fruits and good acids. It was not really a wine of distinction and could easily be reproduced in many other places.

Montefalco Rosso 2008
A rustic ripe black fruit nose, was very well balanced and light on the palate with fresh fruits and tannins, and was a great food wine.

Montefalco Sagrantino 2008
Had a gentle brick red colour, and on the nose combined barbecue sauce, gherkin and tomato. On the palate the wine was intense yet soft with structure and mellow elegance.

Montefalco Sagrantino 2007
Much more intense and dark, and had less integration and elegance, looking more aggressive and hotter.

Sagrantino Passito 2008
Some fig and prunes on the nose with the same briny quality of the 2008 Sagrantino, opulent and full on the palate with balanced sweetness and focus.

Bird house on the Romanelli estate

Bird house on the Romanelli estate

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April 5, 2013 · 7:24 am

Arnaldo Caprai – 24/04/2012

Anima Umbria 2011
A blend of 85% grechetto and 15% trebbiano, which had very grassy wild herb and kiwi elements on the nose, expressing leesy apple texture on the palate. Whilst it was very fresh and vibrant it was a little simple and without character.

Grechante Grechetto Colli Martani DOC 2011
A much riper and fuller depth and power, very fruit forward yet rich in minerality and warmth.

Montefalco Rosso 2009
A blend of mostly sangiovese and sagrantino, but can have up to 25% other varieties both native and otherwise. Showed very peppery blackberry fruit sweetness, and also expressed some sweet oak tannin and tightness of tannin and acid, bold yet fresh and approachable.

Montefalco Rosso Riserva 2006
A typically new world heavy oak character of ripe banana skin with some vanilla and bruised blackcurrant notes, and was quite hot and a little clunky.

Collepiano Sagrantino di Montefalco 2007
Had a nice dusty earthy blackcurrant nose, quite inviting, but being my first sagrantino wine I did not expect the tannins which were very intense. In spite of this the tannins were all on the front of the palate, and the wine finished fresh and juicy with some wild herb and black fruits, a tad hot though.

25th Anniversary Sagrantino di Montefalco 2007
Much more subtle and integrated than the Collepiano, showing less obvious oak influence and tannin intensity, with some caramel and cigar-box tightness on the palate.

25th Anniversary Sagrantino di Montefalco 2008
More savoury, elegant and fresh, a lot lighter and tighter with more potential for cellaring.

An Umbrian cooking class at Arnaldo Caprai

An Umbrian cooking class at Arnaldo Caprai

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April 5, 2013 · 7:02 am

Vicari – 26/04/2012

Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi 2011
Quite a bold floral ripe fruit nose, and on the palate seemed to gently fade away with elegance and freshness.

L’Insolito Verdicchio Classico Superiore 2010
A wine that takes inspiration from Saint Clair in New Zealand, harvested later and treated with care and attention but no oak. The 2010 is one of the best whites I have tasted in Italy, expressing a combination of floral, ripe tropical pineapple notes on the nose, whilst on the palate combines deep and intense texture with volume, complexity and some late creaminess in the back.

Il Rustico Lacrima 2010
My first experience with the variety, and it blew my head off, as it is one of the most aromatic reds I have ever encountered. The floral rose and violet notes are extraordinary, and add in musk spice and red fruits it makes for a whirlwind of complexity. On the palate it is quite soft and generous with focus and spice, but it is like drinking flowers.

Lacrima Superiore 2011
A much more intense and complex version, with more subtle and complex characteristics, expressing spicier more peppery notes.

Essenza Lacrima 201
Made through carbonic maceration, which gives the wine a candied sweetness and makes it look hot, not something I think works for the variety.

Rosso Piceno 2010
A blend of 70% montepulciano, 28% sangiovese and 2%, is a juicy exuberant and fresh wine with softness, elegance and authenticity.

Amaranto Lacrima Passito 2009
Style suits the variety perfectly, as the fruit has no problem achieving the balance of sugar and acids necessary to make an elegant sweet wine. Has a gorgeous ripe floral character throughout, introducing some very subtle spice and pepper elements, bold yet refined texture and some subtle black fruit.

A Vicari barrel not actually in use

A Vicari barrel not actually in use

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April 5, 2013 · 6:54 am

Santa Barbara – 26/04/2012

Le Vaglie Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi Classico 2011
Showed very crisp citrus and pear fruits on the nose with some very delicate minerality, whilst on the palate riper more tropical fruits like guava and fig combined with brisk acidity and balanced texture.

Stefano Antonucci Riserva Verdicchio 2009
A richer and riper fruit nose with delicate herbal spice elements, with a more developed texture and fruit intensity on the palate, introducing nashi pear and some tropical depth.

Tardivo ma non tardo Verdicchio 2008
Harvested later at a very mature ripeness level, having higher alcohol and viscosity. Very intense and floral with glazed orchard fruits on the nose, showing some late harvest oxidative concentration and fruit sweetness.

Stefano Antonucci Rosso 2009
A blend of 40% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 20% montepulciano, very imbalanced showing neither fruit restraint or personality, and sitting on the fence between power and elegance.

Il Maschio da Monte Montepulciano 2009
Suffers from heavy handling of oak dulling the fruit, expressing too much oak-derived sweet characters like chocolate and caramel, and is quite hot and extractive.

Pathos 2010
A blend of one-third of each of cabernet, merlot and syrah, and the 2010 is not a bad wine per se, but is neither unique nor indigenous, and serves to the owners and the mass markets taste.

A lovely companion to a wine tasting

A lovely companion to a wine tasting

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April 4, 2013 · 11:08 pm

Umani Ronchi – 27/04/2012

Ca Sal Di Serra Verdicchio Classico Superiore 2011
Showed subtle fresh tropical fruit and floral notes on the nose, and was very crisp and vibrant on the palate with good acidity and viscosity to keep the wine approachable but interesting.

Vecchie Vigne Verdicchio
Made from old-vine fruit, and the 2008 had a slightly candied apple custard waxiness and freshness, was very gentle and elegant on the palate with subtle creamy complexity.

Plento Riserva 2009
The odd one out of the three verdicchio wines, as it is matured in oak rather than solely stainless steel, which gave it a very muted fruit freshness and vibrancy, and gave the wine a slightly oak-derived sweetness.

San Lorenzo Conero Rosso 2010
Made from 100% montepulciano, very hidden by a layer of oak and rusticity. Whilst it had good precision and structure I couldn’t see the elegance or the personality of the wine.

Jorio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2009
By comparison had oodles of character, achieving an elusive balance between fruit and savoury characters, elegance and expressiveness, fresh and complex characters.

Lumaro Conero Riserva 2007
Suffered from over-maceration and too long in oak, as it looked clumsy, blunt, aggressive and very new-world.

Pelago 2008 (50% montepulciano, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot)
Had a similar problem, but at least the Bordeaux varieties are suited to this kind of maceration and oak treatment. Whilst the wine was of good quality it could have come from anywhere.

Fonte del Re Lacrima 2010
Fresh, exuberant, floral and spicy, having approachable full flavoured yet tight focused tannins. This was a wine treated with the respect and care lacking in some of the other red wines.

The modern way to moderate the temperature in the cellar

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April 4, 2013 · 10:48 pm

Masciarelli – 30/04/2012

Castello di Semivicoli Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2008
Combined complex seashell saltiness and texture with some elegant stone fruit depth and viscosity.

Villa Gemma Cerasuolo 2011
A traditional way of producing montepulciano, whereby the must is cold soaked for about 24 hours then pressed off, which gives a dark rose colour to the wine. Showed candied fruit sweetness of strawberries, cherries and cream, plenty of lively acidity and textured tannins, but was again quite simple.

Marina Cvetic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2009
The fruit was astonishingly good and showed great authenticity, but it was drenched in toasty sweet oak tannins.

Iskra Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2004
Had the benefit of several more years of bottle age, but couldn’t escape the overuse of oak, which in my opinion won’t help the wine improve in the cellar.

Villa Gemma Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2005
After 30+ days of maceration on skins spends the next four years in a variety of old and new oak treatments. The over maceration gave the aromatics a volatile acidity nature, and the concentration of fruit combining with the oak makes it a very complex, mature and intense wine, that will probably benefit with more age.

A box of Masciarelli wine

A box of Masciarelli wine

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April 4, 2013 · 10:35 pm

Tenuta Torre Raone – 30/04/2012

Lucanto Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2010
Expressed a clean juicy floral and fruit sweet nose with some honey and citrus notes. On the palate it maintained an approachable freshness of fruit, but also had plenty of balance, texture and minerality.

Raone Bianco 2010
A blend of pecorino, pinot grigio, and a variety called incrocio manzoni, a cross of riesling and pinot bianco from Friuli. The fruit notes for this wine were in the zesty citrus realm of oranges and lime, coupling with some floral minerality and depth, and whilst very vibrant and crisp had little more to offer than a good aromatic white wine.

Pecorino Colline Pescaresi 2009
Showed lovely grapefruit and honeysuckle notes on the nose, introducing subtle quince, grass and ripe stone fruit notes on the palate, with lots of depth, texture and warmth.

Raone Bianco 2008
Made entirely from incrozio manzoni. The 2008 was made like a white burgundy, highlighting the richness, weight and depth of the wine with plenty of toasty oxidative malolactic elements.

Lucanto Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2010
Very aromatic and intense with black olives, red currants, dried fowl and some rustic notes, great balance and weight with approachability and texture.

San Zopito Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007
Showed the benefit old vines have on the variety and site, but unfortunately the excessive amount of oak manipulation gave the wine too much sweet vanilla and caramel, and gave the wine too much breadth of tannins and fruit.

Steep trebbiano vineyards at Torre Raone

Steep trebbiano vineyards at Torre Raone

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April 3, 2013 · 8:36 pm

Barone di Valforte – 1/05/2012

Pecorino 2011
Recently bottled, and had a vibrant fresh citrus floral and melon aroma, whilst on the palate showed good concentration, texture, volume and balance, expressing very subtle fruit complexity.

Passerina 2011
A lesser known indigenous variety in Abruzzo, considerably softer, cleaner and gentler than the Pecorino before it. On the nose there were subtle peach and pear fruits with a complex reggiano cheese skin, and on the palate showed some creaminess with the delicate fruit notes.

Villa Chiara Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2011
Full, broad and rich, had great acidity freshness and approachability, but somehow lacked definition and personality. I’m not sure how this could be achieved, perhaps it is a result of the vine age, or perhaps some lees contact could be introduced to add some more structure and texture.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2010
A bold black fruit and spicy pepper nose, and on the palate was full, intense and warm, very approachable and reflective of the variety, but finished a little short.

Riserva Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007
Quite different, showing the difference in oak treatment and vintage. It was fuller and heavier, very bold in tannins and texture, with developed red and purple fruit notes, and whilst the oak was intense it wasn’t sweet or clumsy, and added complexity to the wine rather than distracting from the fruit.

The Baron Valforte winery

The Barone di Valforte winery

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April 3, 2013 · 8:12 pm

Alberto Longo – 2/05/2012

Capoposto Negroamaro 2008
A very juicy plummy nose with depth, softness and fruit sweetness, focused and velvety tannins, very mellow and yet focused with red tomato savoury elements.

Cacc’e Mmitte di Lucera 2009
A DOC wine made from two red varieties (nero di troia and montepulciano) and one white variety (bombino bianco). Especially unique aromas, expressing currants with earthy smoked meat, was fairly intense and fresh on the palate with tight and firm tannins without too much heat or astringency.

Le Cruste Nero di Troia 2009
Suffers from the problem outlined in the introduction to this post, showing very intense sweet spicy oak, and a thin blanket of coconut sitting over the palate. The fruit was bold and structured, showing some interesting cranberry and blackberry notes, but it was hard to get past the oak.

A wine I had seen before but never tasted

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April 3, 2013 · 8:01 pm

Rivera – 3/05/2012

Marese Bombino Bianco 2011
Aromas of florals, melon and citrus, whilst on the palate was light, fresh and fruity with some honey and tropical notes.

Pungirosa Bombino Nero Rose 2011
Delicate aromas of red berries and slightly savoury elements, and was very fresh, bright and crisp with vibrant cherry and raspberry fruits and some fruit sweetness.

Violante Nero di Troia 2008
Combines raspberry, spice, violets and liquorice on the nose, was very bold and full-flavoured with lot’s of grippy tannins and juicy dark fruits like cherries and blackcurrants.

The huge range of wines made at Rivera

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